Competition rules and points

The judges can award the sailors from 1 to 12 points for the manoeuvres or wave-rides they perform during each heat. The sailors are judged in two categories: jumps and wave riding. Jumps are judged based on the level of difficulty, how well the jump is performed and how high it is. In the category of wave riding, the judgment is based on style, performance and how big the wave is.

A heat typically lasts for 8–10 minutes, followed by a two-minute break, after which the next heat begins. Depending on the conditions, the sailors will be scored on up to three jumps and three wave-rides in a heat. They compete by the “knockout system”, meaning that the person with the most points wins and moves on to the next heat, until there are only two people left in the final.

The 32 sailors are placed in a “single elimination”, with two people on the water in each heat. The winner of the heat will advance and move on to the next heat. All sailors are seeded based on previous competitions. The seeding of the individual sailor determines who he will be competing against in the first heat. The single elimination can run for several days. When the single elimination ends, a winner is, technically, found. However, it is possible for all the sailors to get a second chance. This happens if the weather is right, making it possible to carry out a “double elimination”.

The results from the single elimination determine the seeding in the double elimination. The winner of the single elimination will meet the last man left in the double elimination. At this point the winner of the single elimination is still undefeated, while the last man left in the double elimination has lost one heat - the one he lost during the single elimination. Everyone else has lost two heats – one in the single elimination and one in the double elimination.

If the winner of the single elimination defeats the last man left in the double elimination, he will win the competition. Everybody else will have lost one heats, apart from the winner of the single elimination, who has won all of his heats. However, if the winner of the single elimination loses to the last man in the double elimination, the two of them will be tied, with two lost heats each. This will send them on to a “Super final”, where the winner of the heat will be the over-all winner.

The double elimination can, like the single elimination, run for several days. If the double elimination is impossible to finish, the result from the single elimination counts. That means that the winner of the Cold Hawaii PWA World Cup is not found until the double elimination has been sailed, or the competition days are over.

Equipment

1 Board: The boards are made of a hard block of foam with a shell of glass and carbon fibre. The sailors typically bring 2-5 boards in different sizes for the competitions. The windier it is, the smaller the board. A typical board is around 230cm long and weighs 6kg.

2 Sail: The sails are mainly made out of monofilm and nylon. In Klitmøller the sailors will be using sails of between 3.3m² and 5.7m². The windier it is, the smaller the sail they will use.

3 Mast: The masts are made of carbon fibre. They are approximately 370cm long and weigh around 1.5kg.

4 Boom: Like the mast, the boom is also made of carbon fibre. The boom is the “handle” of the sail, and can be adjusted to fit different sail sizes.

5 Wetsuit: The sailors wear wetsuits made of neoprene, which are very flexible and 3–5mm thick. The wetsuits protect them from the cold.

6 Harness: The harness is made of nylon and has a stainless steel hook. The windsurfers wear a harness around the hip in order to be able to hold on to the sail for longer periods of time. The harness can be attached to the boom, and thereby help relieve the windsurfers arms.

History

Windsurfing was presented as a new sport discipline in California in the late 60s by the sailor, Jim Drake and the surfer, Hoyle Schweitzer. The two of them invented the “free sailing system”, which initially made use of hand-built equipment.

The sport of windsurfing combines elements of sailing and surfing in a unique way, making it possible to surf almost anywhere with wind and water. Today, windsurfing has developed into various forms and disciplines, and the equipment is designed for every kind of windsurfing style.

The popularity of windsurfing has made it an international competition sport, and today, professional windsurfers are organized under the international association, PWA (Professional Windsurfers Association). The organization is responsible for laying down the rules within the individual disciplines of windsurfing, and for representing the sport worldwide.